Children demand for HIV/ AIDS awareness programme

Oct 24, 2015

Children have tasked parents, caretakers, teachers and different stakeholders involved in the anti HIV/AIDS campaign to openly share right information about the disease that will enable children protect themselves right from childhood.

By Vivian Agaba                  

Children have tasked parents, caretakers, teachers and different stakeholders involved in the anti HIV/AIDS campaign to openly share right information about the disease that will enable children protect themselves right from childhood.
 
The call made by pupils of St. Anthony's Nursery and Primary School, Mutungo together with pupils from SOS-Childrens Village, Kakiri.
 
"Do not hesitate or feel shy to educate us about HIV/AIDS. We need to know its causes, how it is spread, who is at risk. Teach us how to protect ourselves, stay safe and with right information from childhood, we shall be productive citizens. Do not wait to give us information about the disease when we have grown up, it may be too late for some people," said the pupils.
 
The message was made through various music, dance and drama presentations about HIV/AIDS.
 
This was during the launch of the HIV/AIDS community awareness and sensitization drive in Nakawa Division on Thursday.
 
The function organized by St. Anthony's Nursery and Primary School, Mutungo was under the theme "Achieving Zero HIV/AIDS Infection in Uganda'
 
Sarah Nakku, Community Mobilization and Networking Advisor, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) said to get to zero infection of the disease, more focus should be on children.
 
"By the age of eight or nine, children are having their first sexual intercourse and this is the reality.Teachers, parents and guardians, it is your role to focus on giving children information regarding HIV/AIDS and encourage them to abstain till they are old enough. Otherwise you will teach and invest in children that are sick and will die young," she advised.
 
On the other hand, Rachael Kentenyingi, public relations officer, Makerere University Joint AIDS program called upon parents, caretakers to take children under their care for an HIV test and give them direction on how to lead productive lives.
                 
"It is our responsibility as adults to ensure that our children live a better life than us. Take children under your care for an HIV test, if they are positive, ensure they get treated, and receive counseling so that they can live productive lives. If they are negative, guide them to remain negative," she said
 
She pointed out that in Uganda today, about 1.5m people are living with HIV and about 150,000 of these are children between 0-14 years.
 
Innocent Nanyongyera, director of the school said the school commenced the struggle to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS through producing AIDS songs and poems in 2012 after realizing the disease was still a major problem affecting the community.
 
"Teaching a generation which will not live longer is a waste of time, our efforts as teachers and parents should not go to waste. Let us sensitize our children and entire communities about HIV/AIDS and ways on how to eliminate the deadly disease," she noted.
 
The school is using brass band, music, dance and drama, community outreach programs like HIV/AIDS drive to educate people about AIDS and empower them about positive behavioral change like abstaining, being faithful, use of condoms and male circumcision.
 
Jane Kamoga, a parent said "Most of us parents are shy; there are issues like sex that we cannot talk to our children about. We have left the role to teachers but sometimes, they also do not. The problem of information gap has led our children into problems." She said.
 
 

 

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